Kage Manako
Kage Manako (birth year unknown) is a hero in Phoenix City Chronicles. Metagame Information Creator/Player: Robert Pflug/ Robert Pflug Creative Circumstance: Player Character/Recurring NPC Moral Stance: Hero Overview Kage has existed since the first edition (early draft) of PXC for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, alongside Cerys, Tal Kadorin, Knuckles McDaniel, Azan, and others. He has remained relatively consistent in each incarnation though his role has become more important and metaphysical in recent story arcs. Pflug's inspiration for the character was Himura Kenshin from Rurouni Kenshin. Indeed, in the original games, Kage was a practitioner of the same Hiten Mitsurugi sword style as his inspiration. This was changed to the fictional Kaze-Ryu sword style from the second edition on. Appearance Kage Manako appears as a short, lithe man of oriental bearing with violet eyes and black hair of varying lengths. In past incarnations he would wear red and white variations on traditional samurai clothing and was known to wear a straw sandogasa and carry a katana at all times. Following his ascension to Protagonist, Kage is most often seen in an all-white variant of his traditional garb and wields the Sword Of Sands, a weapon designed by Ro Tar R'an and given to his champions. Before PXC Kage's past is relatively unknown. He has cryptically referred to his training in the Kaze-Ryu sword style and claims to be from a "distant land to the east" (later revealed to be the land of Meido), but beyond this, the audience is never given a clear backstory. Vektor Story Arc Following visions of a terrible evil, Kage traveled from his homeland to Phoenix City where he took part in the battle against the demon Vektor (Our Lady's Peace, Racing Darkness Deadly Night) Marrowbrook Story Arc After the appearance of Tal Kadorin's childhood sweetheart Cellus, Kage joined in the quest to rid Marrowbrook of a new threat. He was mysteriously spirited away while the heroes were storming the castle of Nathaniel Grassroot (Reunion In Marrowbrook, The Storming Of Marrowbrook Castle). Feusang Story Arc Kage's fate remains unknown during this story arc. It is retroactively revealed to the audience in the story arc to follow that, during this time, Kage had been chosen as the Ro Tar R'an's own champion, The Protagonist, and given a mission to study and later stop a mad ifrit named Kel Al Ba'al. (Anniversary). Kel Al Ba'al Story Arc Shortly following Knuckles McDaniels' defeat of the man responsible for his mother's death, the brawler is approached by an assassin named Pinstripe. Though the assassin appears to have the upper hand, the fight is interrupted by the intervention of Ro Tar R'an and Kage, now his champion, and tasked with defeating a dangerous new threat. (Anniversary) Kage leads the charge into an alternate reality. (Shadows Fall) As The Protagonist It is unclear how Kage and the heroes of Phoenix City managed to defeat Kel Al B'al. What is clear is that the timeline was reset to just before the villain's intervention as if it had never been. It is equally clear that Kage Manako maintains knowledge of his counterpart selves and their deeds, as he recognizes characters he should have never met and sometimes remembers details of events that others cannot verify. He will also continue to make appearances in the timeline, always at the same age, though increasingly more powerful. As of July 2015, series creator Regis Welch has defined Kage's role in the games, "The nature of the story allows certain concepts to become entities in their own right. I sort of became The Narrator while running the games and that character became Ro Tar R'an. Rob is the most consistently present player and his character Kage appears more often than anyone else. Kage is The Protagonist; he is the one player character we know of that will always be able to jump into a game, regardless of where or when, because he always has." Adventure Appearances Vektor Story Arc * Vengeance * Southern Exorcism * For Whom He Fights * Just For Luck * Our Lady's Peace * Racing Darkness, Deadly Night Marrowbrook Story Arc * Reunion In Marrowbrook * The Storming Of Marrowbrook Castle Kel Al Ba'al Story Arc * Anniversary * Shadows Fall Category:Heroes Category:Deities